SEAWIND RV RESORT

Sea Wind RV Park Entrance

The Sea Wind RV Resort is located about three miles from Riviera,TX.  This county park is situated on Baffin Bay, the second saltiest inlet in the world.  
We were cautioned by other guests about the salty air wreaking havoc on bicycle sprockets and chains. 
Use the water for washing clothes, washing dishes and showering, but don't drink the water! 

Home Sweet Home

Baffin Bay 

Upon arrival we met a couple who is new to our local RV group. They are the reason we came to Sea Wind RV. Tim and Terri are very hospitable and very helpful with campground activities and local points of interest. They continue to educate us about this area as well as birds and animals in this area.

Welcome New WAW Members

Sea Wind has a full weekly schedule of activities including Cloggercise, skeet shooting, fire ring, bingo, ice cream social, classes on genealogy, jewelry, wood & bark, special holiday events, and clubs for softball, dance, gun and cards. 

Baffin Bay

A Blue Indigo snake supposedly has taken up residence in the campground.  It eats rattlesnakes and can grow up to nine feet but it is the largest non-venomous snake in North America. 

Blue Indigo Snake

Texas has long been one of the country's only producers of uranium and South Texas has been a hub for uranium mining. The metal, derived from ancient volcanoes is found in soluble form in aquifers. The mining is done through a process called "in-situ" leaching, in which oxygenated water is sent into the aquifers to dissolve the uranium. The fluid that comes back up runs through resin pellets that clamp onto the uranium. The resin, which is reusable, gets transported to facilities which remove the uranium and turn it into yellowcake.

Uranium Farm

As we are in the South Texas uranium province. Not far from the resort is a uranium farm.  We may be glowing by the time we leave here.

Elusive Nilgai Antelope

Chachalaca Raptor

Greenjay

Mesquite Trees Grow to 25Feet

  

Prickly Pear Cactus

SOUTHFORK RANCH

Nothing Could Keep Me From Watching Dallas!

For me, no trip to Dallas would be complete without a drive to the legendary Southfork Ranch, made famous by the Ewing Family in the television series Dallas! The hit TV series ran from 1978 to 1991.

It was one of the longest running TV series in history, 13 years producing 356 episodes.

You can visit Southfork Ranch where the Ewing family called home and visit this Texas ranch in person to experience the lifestyle of the rich. You can see the gun that shot J.R., the "Dallas" family tree, and Jock's Lincoln Continental followed by a guided tour of the ranch.

FRISCO, TX

Dan & Cindy in Frisco, TX

This community had a population of only 5,700 in 2005.  In 2015 there were over 115,000 residents. We met up with Dan and Cindy who recently moved here from FL. They were gracious enough to take us on a tour of their new area.  Dan is good at finding his way around.

There is so much construction going on.  Most people who live here weren't born here, but the work is here.  Huge cranes are everywhere along with numerous construction sites for office buildings and condos . A new Ford Center is being built for the Dallas Cowboys for indoor training. A new Toyota World headquarters is being built here.

Motorhoming on I-35E Under Construction near Corinth, TX

The high school football stadiums here hold 40,000 fans. We drove by a gas station where Mexicans hang out every morning to get picked up for work. When we drove by at noon only one man was still there. Legacy mall shops are surrounded by life-size statues of cowboys and longhorn steers. The world cup soccer games were held here at the Dr. Pepper Stadium . We had a delicious lunch at "Salsa" where we caught up on our family, moves and travels.

THE SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963. The sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building was the primary crime scene for the JFK assassination.  

The exhibit provides historical context for the events of November 22, 1963 and the aftermath of the assassination.

Glassed Off Corner of Sixth Floor

On the sixth floor you are able to see an accurately recreated sniper's perch at the southeast corner on the sixth floor overlooking Dealey Plaza.

On display is an Italian-made Mannlicher-Cacano rifle identical to the one found in the northwest corner of the sixth floor by investigators.

GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Texas "Rose Garden"

This museum highlights the administration of our 43rd President, George W. Bush. Artifacts, documents, theaters, and interactive exhibits capture key decisions and events of his presidency.

President Bush emphasized his guiding principles during his years in the White House: Opportunity, Freedom, Responsibility and Compassion. 

Galleries take a look at the 9/11 attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, domestic programs like No Child Left Behind, and other major events and initiatives of the Bush Administration.

Featured are a tribute to 9/11, a full-sized reproduction of the Oval Office, and a Texas Rose Garden.

Steel Beams from the World Trade Center

Resolute Desk in Oval Office

Area Rug Selected by Mrs. Laura Bush

Fireplace in Oval Office

On display is that Saddam Hussein was supposedly carrying when he was captured.

9mm Glock

It's also a repository for presidential gifts as well as other donated artifacts relating to the life and career of President Bush. 

Gifts to the People of the United States

The "Life in the White House" exhibits a look into the personal life of the Bush family.

Baseballs Presented to George W. Bush (He Loves Baseball)

TEXAS OR BUST 😊

Our 28th State

DAY ONE
We left early Saturday morning as there was a snow storm looming for northern IL. We knew it would be a long haul, especially since we changed our route from IA to IL We stopped at the rest area north of Madison only to discover our front tires on the pickup were seriously pitted.  Turns out "someone" took the keys out of the ignition that locked up the steering wheel on our tow vehicle.  As the tires needed to be replaced we spent an hour or more driving around Madison on a Saturday trying to locate a garage for tires and installation.We finally found tires at Southside Tire in DeForest.

Despite the two-hour delay in Madison, we missed the snowstorm in northern IL. As the sun was beginning to set our GPS went rogue by taking us down the wrong highway, telling us to make a u-turn with no exit in sight, and giving wrong exits and highways, We were down to a quarter tank of fuel, in the dark, in the middle of nowhere on an unknown road just 30 miles from our campground. We got turned around and listened to GPS directions only to find ourselves on a dark narrow two-lane road instead of a major highway.  It was like a day that would not end.  Thankfully we arrived at Whittington Woods around 6:30 long after dark and having travelled almost 600 miles. It was a day from hell.

DAY TWO
After a restful night's sleep, we were ready for another day of adventure with a GPS that was on the fritz. It was a dreary day and starting to rain with the wind picking up.  After a few hours we pulled off the road in West Memphis into a KOA to hunker down for the night.with the wind blowing and the rain coming down throughout the night. I don't think we realized how exhausted we were from the day before. I pulled an oops when I took doggie out before bed and opened the door to what I thought was our RV.  When I realized it was a Dutch Star parked alongside us, I yelled "sorry" and shut the door.   Well, the Dutch Star was the same color as our RV.😩

DAY THREE
Stopped in Texarkana, AR for a night.  The weather girl kept referring to the ARK-LA-TX (the three states contiguous to one another).  Lots of traffic noise along the highway. I did get the GPS to work again. Seems there was an error with the last map update. We spotted light bars atop two cars at a trailer behind the campground office. Hmmmm. We later heard on the late news that Texarkana, TX (about 10 miles from the campground) is one of the top 10 cities in TX with a high crime rate.

DAY FOUR
The closer we got to Dallas the heavier the traffic got and the faster they went. It was a white knuckle ride on I-35E with lots of road construction and three lanes of mostly semi traffic screaming by at 70 mph. After a harrowing drive in the RV with a tow vehicle, we arrived in Corinth,TX at Destiny RV Campground.  Again right off I-35E. We were assigned a site near the highway but we couldn't maneuver our RV into a site around a tight corner without hitting a car parked on the site at the turn or scratching the paint on our RV.  We requested another site and were directed to a double pull thru behind the office.  Seems to be a much better site. This campground appears to have lots of fifth wheels here, possibly for all the highway construction workers.  Even a school bus goes past our site to the back of the campground.

DAY FIVE
We ventured out to Lowes for a hot water heater element and a windshield wiper.  Stopped at Whataburger for lunch. The manager told us the FM highway designation means "farm to market" to indicate the old routes farmers took to market. He said I-35 has been under construction since he moved here 25 years ago.

Fishing

We overlook a small lake at Bella Terra. This year the fishing is great!

28" Largemouth Bass

Brim

Fairhope Art Show

Outdoor Art Show

300 booths lined the streets of downtown Fairhope the third weekend in March to usher in spring. Last night a major storm with high winds passed through Fairhope after setup for the festival causing damage to about 20 tents.

More than 300k are Expected to Attend

There is no admission. Live entertainment is continuous and unique cuisine is served in the food court. We stopped at Buc's for lunch. The roast beef and gravy that tasted just like Grandma's Italian beef sandwiches.

Always a Shopper

The art festival has changed over the years.  It used to charge artists and crafters a 10% commission on their gross sales.  Now they are charged an entry fee.  Participation is no longer restricted to locals; they now come from across the United States

Interesting !?!

Roar-r-r-r-r!

St Patrick's Day

Today's Green Beer

About 1,000 participants, including four bagpipers from the champion Windsor Canadian Police Pipe Band were on hand to lead the Papa Rocco's perennial St Patty's Day parade and Pub Crawl. 

Bill McGinnes was the Grand Marshall (carrying the stick) for the Gulf Shores walking parade on March 17. He finances the leisurely, song-filled stroll to various downtown watering holes.

The giant green crawl begins around 9:30 a.m. and ends around 2 p.m. The parade route includes stops at Papa Rocco's, The Flying Harping, Mudbugs, The Steamer, DeSoto's, The Hangout, The Pink Pony, Gulf Island Grille, Hooters, Ribs 'N Reds and ends at Mikee's.

Snowbirds have been walking with McGinnes and original bagpiper Jocko McClean since the 1980s.  Spring Breakers are now joining the older crew of Irish.

McGinnes and McClean, like the bagpipers and other regulars wear kilts.

The parade started with 30 people and one bag piper in 1979.

Cute Leprechaun

Grand Marshall Bill McGinnes

The Pipes

Breakfast: Irish Coffee and Beer

Love a Man in a Kilt

The Nina, The Pinta, and Lulu's

We had the opportunity to see historically correct replicas of The Nina and the Pinta. This type of common trading vessels was used by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. The two ships were docked at Lulu's Sunset Grill.

The Pinta

The Nina

Where is the Santa Maria?  It sunk off the coast of the Bahamas during its first voyage.  That's OK though as Christopher Columbus, who sailed on that ship, thought it was a slow and clumsy ship.

There were 24 crewmen on the Nina, the Pinta had 26, and 40 on the Santa Maria. He sailed back to Europe on the Pinta. They could only sail when there was a strong aft wind for the sails along with the keel. The ships are black because they were covered in pine tar to make it water resistant. The decking on the ships was Brazilian ironwood, a very heavy and dense wood.



The first voyage was a little over seven months. The Captain said the ships were like little corks floating in the ocean.  I was surprised how small these ships were.  I don't think I would have survived the trip.

Holding Jacura Brazilian Ironwood

The crew are volunteers from all over the United States and the Caribbean.  The Columbus Foundation is always looking for crew.

What Happens in Alabama, Stays in Alabama
(You Guys!!)